There's Only Us
by rentvenger
Summary: Maureen tells her kids about one of the best (and worst) years of her life.


"Well, since your mother's not home... Again... Would you like to hear a story or something?" Maureen asked her two young children. The diva was never good with kids, so everyday she wondered how Joanne had convinced her to adopt the twins; Angel and Thomas.

"It's about a group of friends at the end of the millennium. I, Maureen Johnson, was a budding performance artist. I'd jut broken up with a tight-ass filmmaker for your mother, Ms. Joanne Jefferson. I was planning to protest my old roommate's rein of terror. His name was Benny. Quite personally, I blame Muff- Sorry. Allison, for changing him. I'd known Mark since back in Scarsdale, he was a good friend... Later boyfriend. The sex was terrible. Almost as bad as the plays he constantly tried to get me to act in. I still never understood why he never would record us in bed and sell that for his rent money. He refused no matter how many times I gave him permission and even recommended it. What can I say? The camera loves me. Clothes or no clothes. Pookie was a bit of a prude."

"Anyways- After I moved out of Mark and his roommate Roger's apartment, and in with your mom, I held my protest. Even though it was perfectly written and planned, it was a disaster. Damn Benny called the cops. But at least after that we got to celebrate- If you could even call it that- At the Life Cafe..."

"... That was interesting to say the least. We broke in to song simply o taunt Benny and his funding father-in-law, Mr. Grey. I'm not even going to lie, that was a blast. That's where I met Angel; a lovable drag queen, who could sure buck my best friend, Collins, in the ass. Oh, and then Mimi. She was a sexy dancer at the Catscratch Club. That was one of many nights that your mother and I broke up, but that's okay because when no one was paying attention, I hooked up with some blonde stranger under one of the tables. Apparently that was the night Mimi and Roger got together, but I was too busy with What's-Her-Name to really notice those two."

"A while later, Mimi got hooked back on drugs. I never saw why Roger hung out with a junkie, when he was just getting clean. That thing with her and Roger ended. Benny had something to do with that too. He just sucks. Who am I kidding, the only relationship that was still together was Collins and Angel... But there was one problem. Angel was hanging on by a very thin thread. Angel was dying from AIDS, like almost every member of our group of friends. It's part of the reason your mom and I are the only ones still around. Everyone had the disease, and Mark committed... S-s... Never mind."

"How could we lose Angel? We were lucky to be her friends. Collins turned into a complete mess. I've never seen someone down so many bottles of booze so fast. I mean, damn."

"I proposed to your mom before, then broke up at our engagement party because I flirted with the lady with the champagne. What? She was gorgeous. We got back together after Ang's funeral. I guess it was destiny. Roger sold his guitar, for a man with such a passion for music you would think he would need that to write a song. But, hey, with the money he got some ratty old car. That would have been great if he hadn't used it to run away to Sante Fe. I guess that's what pushed Mimi to run off too."

"Mimi didn't pick up her AZT for weeks, that was concerning by itself. Not to mention the fact that no one had heard from her. Roger was suffering in Sante Fe. He claims that all he saw was Mimi's face everywhere. Mark threw himself into Buzzline-a job he would have never gotten if it wasn't for yours truly. And Joanne and I were fighting over my protesting. Between searching for the nineteen year old. and missing Angel, everything was one big mess."

"I swear we asked the entire population of New York if they'd seen Mimi. No one had! It started to just feel hopeless. Roger had even come home, but Meems wasn't there to greet him. We were at a loss... Until your mom and I found her. We carried her back to Roger and Mark's apartment, screaming up to them. We couldn't carry the thin girl up the stairs by ourselves... Roger's face when he saw her in the condition she was in... Heart breaking."

"The guys rushed down to carry her up the staircase, Joanne and I followed. Collins called for an ambulance. Seriously, what ambulance puts someone on hold?! I plan to hold a protest for that someday. Mimi flatlined... She was dead. Her eyes closed. Sickly pale."

"Roger, the man I'd only seen cry when he'd lost April, actually cried. He fumbled to get his guitar, which he'd gotten back. He sang Mimi the song he'd written her. Mimi was the song writer's muse. The last note he sang, the dancer sprung up. She mentioned Angel was 'looking good'. I was glad Angel was happy, but the tears filling Collins' eyes were devastating. He missed her... A lot."

"We got to keep Mimi for another two months before her disease took her away... Next went Collins. No one even knew he was sick until he had a day left. He'd hidden it the best he could, and he'd hidden it well. The anarchist did explain why he'd done it. He didn't want treatment. He wanted Angel. He hid how bad his disease had gotten, and the next moment he was gone. The last to leave us were Mark and Roger. The songwriter had lived longer than he was expected... But the day he died, Mark jumped."

"Then it was just me and your- Joanne. It was hard to suffer through so many losses. They'd just disappear. Your mom spends all the time working. I really just have you two."

Maureen said, before placing a kiss on each of the kids foreheads. Laying her hand on one crib before leaving. Not like either of the twins were old enough to understand a word that was said, "Just remember... N-no day but today."


End file.
